Sunday, November 24, 2013

Anyone who spends time online or reading magazines directed at the female population has noticed this trend. Its a good one, far more useful than owning a pile of Beanie Babies or getting a tattoo or wearing jewelry made from Grandma's silverware.

During the rare times I log into Facebook lately I am met with Gratitude Lists. They start with, "I am thankful for..." and list, gosh, just about any kind of positive, almost positive and barely positive items the author can dig up.

I grabbed an O magazine recently (it had been left on a chair I wanted to occupy) and there it was, a tutorial on how to be grateful. Step One, make a list...

And since it's the week of Thanksgiving (remember Thanksgiving? It's that holiday squeezed between Halloween and Shop Til Your Credit Cards Melt) I'll share my list with you today.

Of course there is the fun stuff, like Handsome Husband, Fine Sons, warm socks and pumpkin pie.
There is another list too. We'll call it Grateful List 2.0

I am grateful for

Rejection It helped make me stronger. Well, okay, it hurt like H-E-Double-Toothpicks and I can still cry if given half a chance, but it did help me recognize a weakness or two. Or three.

Fear - I felt it and did it anyway. Well okay, not fear, like that dream where you're naked in a hallway at your Junior High School and can't find your locker. More like the kind of fear an entrepreneur feels when their toes have left the edge of that cliff. Or, more honestly the fear of landing after leaving the edge of that cliff. My landings may not have been beautiful, but there were no broken bones.

Hard Knocks - Well, okay, it's not like I got hit hard enough to leave a mark, but things didn't always go my way. I got pretty good at picking myself up and starting again.

The Grind - Like a good cup of coffee, you don't get there without some grind. At a certain point, like one of Pavlov's dogs, you begin to salivate just a bit when you hear those cogs engage.

How about you? Is there something beyond that bowl of cherries that you are grateful for?

Sunday, November 10, 2013

As I sit here in mismatched sweats and floppy socks I'm taken back to a moment nearly 7 years ago when Handsome Husband and I pondered my future.
I was, in a word, miserable.

Most likely I sat here in this same chair in the same mismatched sweats. (It takes awhile to get them broken in just the way I like 'em.) The job I had loved at one time had become a source of frustration. The pipe dream of being a real live artist was becoming less a dream and more of a realization. Time to fish or cut bait as they say.

Fast forward please.

﻿

I have just wrapped up a run of exhibits and opportunities that were unthinkable that day way back when.

At each opportunity I have learned something, and not all of it related to the artwork; how to show up, how to prepare, how to grow thicker skin. How to ask, and how to know when to walk away. Being an artist isn't all smiles, there are some moments of sharp elbows and doubt that would shake the foundations of an NFL lineman.

﻿

My exhibit at Tru Café in Kearney is one of the fun opportunities. Rick Brown, of the Kearney Daily Hub, wrote a great article here. How cool is that? Yeah, pretty cool. Btw, the exhibit will hang at Tru the whole month of November. Stop in, have a delicious cuppa or even lunch, and have a look see.

Hang with me and together we'll see where the next 7 years will take me. I'm looking forward to it!